Organizational Needs Assessment
As
part of ongoing planning processes, organizations periodically
conduct needs assessments to identify current or anticipated
gaps in organizational performance. Findings from needs assessments
are intended to inform top management and other organizational
stakeholders (Boards, customers, stockholders) as they plan
strategies for improving organizational performance and/or facilitating
organizational growth.
The
focus of needs assessments will vary and depend on the concerns
of the organization. For example, needs assessments may address
current and projected adequacy of facilities and equipment.
Alternately, needs assessments may focus on employees and deal
with identifying gaps (current or anticipated) in staff performance
and their implications for employee selection, education, training,
etc. However, customers are often the focus of needs assessments.
Customer studies evaluate the organization's effectiveness in
satisfying demands for current products and services and often
also project demand for new products and services. As a result,
customer studies also are a form of market research.
A
project conducted for the Franklin
County ADAMH Board is one recent example of a customer -
focused needs assessment. DSS staff and consultants worked with
faculty and graduate students from the The
Ohio State University Fisher College (Anand
Desai) and other local human service consultants to complete
the assessment. Similarly, DSS staff collaborated with staff
from The Artglo Company to conduct a facility-related needs
assessment for Limited Brands.
Personnel
Selection and Performance Appraisal
The
issues of personnel selection and performance appraisal are
important to all organizations. In order to be effective, organizations
must employ unbiased and valid methods for hiring individuals
who are likely to be successful performers. In addition, reliable
and valid methods for evaluating job performance are needed
in order to identify approaches for improving performance and
for advancing careers.
DSS
staff have worked with faculty and staff from The
Ohio State University to develop selection and performance
appraisal tools for companies such as American
Electric Power (AEP) and the Civil
Service Commission of the City of Columbus, Ohio. DSS staff
and consultants also have developed assessment instruments to
evaluate the performance of school personnel including superintendents
of public school systems, treasurers and other top administrators,
private school heads, and Boards. For example, a "Self
Evaluation" instrument was developed for the Dublin
Board of Education, Dublin City Schools. DSS also has developed
performance assessment instruments based on job analyses information
for small to medium size firms such as The Artglo Company, Columbus,
Ohio.
Market
Research
DSS
staff and consultants have assisted in the design, development,
analysis and final report writing for a variety of consumer
research studies for private organizations with headquarters
in Ohio. This research is grounded in the interdisciplinary
literature related to consumer behavior which draws heavily
from the social and industrial/organizational psychology literature.
Some
examples of these projects include: a commercial pretest for
the "Smooth and Easy" shelf liner product for the
Rubbermaid Corporation,
a product positioning study of the Country Hearth Inn concept
for LK Motels, Mansfield, Ohio and: product packaging studies
for the microware product line for the Anchor
Hocking Corporation, Lancaster, Ohio. DSS also has conducted
customer-based needs assessments for public sector organizations
such at the Franklin
County ADAMH Board.
Project
Planning Consultation and Facilitation
Planning
helps an organization to prepare for the future by making decisions
and taking actions today. Planned change is a disciplined effort
that shapes and guides what an organization or work unit does
to deal with problems or opportunities that merit action.
If managed well, planned change facilitates communication among
key people, accommodates diverse interests, provides a means
for orderly decision making, and lays the groundwork for the
successful implementation of a plan (paraphrased from Nutt,
1992, p. 4-5).
The
scope of planning projects varies widely. Some projects address
broad concerns that have implications for the organization as
a whole (e.g., restructuring); others have narrower scopes that
may involve work groups or units within the organization. DSS
staff and consultants have worked with organizations on planning
projects that are broad in scope (e.g., Cluster
- based Planning, Dublin
City Schools, Franklin
County ADAMH Board) and also on planning project which address
narrower problems (The Artglo Company, Limited
Brands, Interact Behavioral Healthcare Organization, Youngstown
Aftercare Corporation, Inc).
Group
Process Facilitation
Groups
of stakeholders are convened by organizations for a variety
of specific reasons, all of which are likely to have implications
for organizational action. For example, planning groups comprised
of organizational stakeholders may be organized to "brainstorm"
possible explanations for a performance gap or identify possible
solutions after a problem has been defined. Groups of consumers
may be identified to react to new product ideas or to express
concerns about current products or services. The use of groups
and group process techniques are important mechanisms for advancing
organizational interests.
There
are numerous techniques for facilitating the work of groups.
Some of these approaches involve the direct face-to-face involvement
of group members (e.g., focus groups, brainstorming groups)
whereas other approaches can be carried out with remote involvement
(e.g., Delphi approaches). The most appropriate group technique
depends on the purpose and size of the group and the particular
application.
DSS
staff and consultants use a variety of techniques to facilitate
group processes, for public organizations (e.g., Dublin
City Schools; Franklin
County ADAMH Board) and private companies (Anchor
Hocking, Interact Behavioral Healthcare, Inc., and Synthesis,
Inc.). Results are analyzed and summarized. Implications of
findings and recommended action steps are suggested to client
organizations
Group
process techniques also are employed by members of the DSS team
in the course of implementing research studies such as the Job
Design Project, the Strategic Issue Diagnosis Study, and
the Cluster-based
Planning research.
Questionnaire
Design and Analysis
Questionnaires
can provide important benefits for organizations. They can be
used to assess employee attitudes, diagnose existing or potential
problems, enhance communication between different levels of
an organization, and for many other purposes. For example questionnaires
often are used in the conduct of market research to gather valued
input from current or potential customers.
The
benefits of questionnaires are likely to be realized only if
they are properly designed, administered and analyzed. This
requires knowledge about sampling methods, item construction,
psychometrics, and data analysis techniques (quantitative and
qualitative).
Staff
and consultants of DSS, Inc. possess this expertise and have
extensive experience designing, administering and analyzing
surveys for a wide range of organizational and research applications.
Virtually all of DSS' current and recent research efforts use
survey methodologies (e.g., IDARP,
Job Design,
Strategic Issue Diagnosis, Risky
Decision Making). Questionnaires have also been used by
DSS in numerous consulting projects (e.g., Rubbermaid,
Anchor Hocking).
Job
Satisfaction
A
positive relationship has consistently been found between job
satisfaction and performance: Happy workers perform better.
Although the strength of this relationship has varied across
studies and overall, is moderate, there is a clear message that
job satisfaction has important implications for organizational
functioning. This is because job satisfaction also has been
linked to costly organizational outcomes such as turnover and
absenteeism. As a result, many organizations are concerned with
the job satisfaction of employees.
DSS
staff and consultants have knowledge of standardized tools for
assessing satisfaction such as the Job Descriptive Index and
the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire. However, we are acutely
aware that satisfaction instruments must be tailored to the
concerns of individual organizations. Standardized instruments
augmented by tailored items have been used in the conduct of
our Job Design Research, special studies (e.g., National Association
of Case Managers), and consulting projects (e.g., Bridgeway,
Inc.)
Seminars
in I/O Psychology for Managers
DSS'
core staff and consultants have extensive expertise and university
teaching experience in I/O psychology and organizational behavior
(see Our People). Special
topic seminars can be designed to augment your organization's
employee development program. We will tailor seminars to your
organization's needs and present material in a way that builds
on the existing expertise of your staff. Please contact DSS
to discuss your organization's needs for special topic seminars
(dssinc@dssincorporated.com).
Job
Design for Maximizing Performance
Jobs
can be designed with a variety of interests in mind. They can
be designed to maximize efficiency of performance. They can
be designed to minimize physical strain. They can be designed
to maximize employee motivation. They can be designed with more
than one interest in mind. Job design has implications for employee
attitudes and performance and other important organizational
outcomes such as turnover.
DSS'
Job Design research is a recent example of our work related
to designing jobs that benefit both the employee and the employer.
In addition to developing and testing instruments, a software
and training package is being developed that will facilitate
the conduct of job design and employee satisfaction assessments
by organization.
